This invention relates to the field of dental hygiene, and provides a device and method for monitoring the presence of plaque, or other foreign matter, on the teeth.
The dental profession has educated the general public on the importance of removal of dental plaque. Bacterial plaques are known to cause periodontal disease, and various methods of plaque removal have been recommended, such as flossing, rinsing with specially formulated mouthwashes, etc.
Regardless of which plaque-removal technique is used, the problem is that the patient has no reliable way of evaluating the effectiveness of his or her plaque-removal efforts. The patient may believe that he or she has diligently flossed, but there still could be a considerable amount of plaque remaining on the teeth, and the patient has no way of knowing how much there is, without visiting a dentist.
There have been various methods proposed, in the prior art, for indicating the condition of the teeth. It is known, for example, that certain substances become fluorescent when illuminated by light having a particular frequency. Such substances, when applied to body tissues such as teeth, can greatly enhance the visibility of foreign matter on those tissues, when the tissues are exposed to light of the proper frequency. Thus, it has been proposed to coat the teeth with a fluorescent dye, or similar solution, and to illuminate the teeth to reveal the quantity of plaque that may have accumulated. Methods based on this principle are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,309,274, 3,711,700, and 4,592,726, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.
While the above-described procedures do reveal the condition of the teeth, the methods of the prior art are rather awkward for use by an unassisted person. For this reason, the average person is unlikely to use such methods regularly. To examine the teeth for plaque, the user must shine a light in exactly the right place, and must hold a separate mirror (such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,726) at exactly the proper angle, in order to obtain meaningful results. Proper positioning of the light source and mirror is essentially a matter of trial and error, and is therefore very inconvenient for the average user. The problems inherent with a hand-held mirror could be avoided by using a wall-mounted mirror, but it is generally very difficult to inspect the areas of interest using a stationary, vertically-oriented mirror.
The present invention solves the above-described problems by providing a method and apparatus for reliably determining the presence of plaque, or other foreign matter, on the teeth. The present invention makes it very easy for an unassisted person to determine the condition of the teeth, and makes it more likely that such a procedure will be used frequently.